These are soooo good! They’re nice to make for company, because everyone gets their own little loaf of bread. Or you could divide the dough into smaller portions if you want, and make a dozen rolls or more instead of six little loaves. You can also leave out the Italian herbs if you don’t want your bread to be herbalicious. You can use Parmesan, Romano, or half & half. You’re the boss. It takes about 2-1/2 hours to get these made, so you can figure out when you need to start to have them ready at dinner time.
In a small bowl, combine:
1-1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 package quick rise yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
Let that sit for a few minutes until it starts to form some bubbles on the top, then stir in:
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)
1/2 cup grated cheese (Parmesan, Roamano, or half & half)
Now put 3 cups of all purpose flour into your food processor, start it up and pour the liquid in. Let it mix until it forms a ball and cleans the side of the bowl. Add a little flour if the dough is too sticky, but I never have to. The dough should be really soft, but doesn’t stick to your hands. Or I guess you could just spend five minutes kneading it by hand, but why???
Coat a bowl with olive oil. Form the dough into a ball, then roll it around the bowl to coat it with oil as well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place in a warm place and let it rise until doubled, about an hour.
Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Divide the dough in half and roll into a 10 X 15 inch rectangle. Lightly flour the top and flip the dough over a few times while you’re rolling it, so it doesn’t stick.
Roll the dough into a jelly roll, starting at one of the long sides. You will have a 15″ long roll, that you will cut into 3 pieces. Repeat with the other piece of dough. Yeah, it’s blurry, but you get the picture.
Pinch the ends of the rolls together and sort of tuck them under, so the ends of your little loaves look rounded. Put them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or coated with cooking spray. Cover them loosely with a piece of plastic wrap coated with cooking spray. Place in a warm place and let them rise until doubled in size. If you want them to look a little fancier, you could make three little diagonal slices in the top of each loaf with a razor blade or really sharp knife before you bake them.
Bake them at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Brush them with melted butter when you take them out of the oven. Take a bow.